Triple whistle to violence against referees: AIA teams up with some excellence
“With criminal repression alone, we will get nowhere, and it will therefore be necessary for the entire soccer system and civil society to become aware that the figure of the referee deserves more respect. And we, having strongly demanded and obtained that the protection of referees enter the penal code, will work every day to do preventive work, made up of education, awareness and development of a better sports culture. And we will also do this together with the excellences already working in this field.”
It was with these words that President Antonio Zappi commented on the meeting at the AIA headquarters with the best associations that have been working for years in the territories in this direction and that in May organized the first “Convegno dei Ragazzi” in Coverciano, in which 40 baby protagonists also spoke about the importance of respecting match directors.
These are “Scuola Genitori Sportivi,” represented by founder Alessandro Crisafulli, who coordinated the projects, the association Calcio Fair Play Toscana with co-founder Andrea Vaglini, and Sistema Giocalcio with creator Gianluca Ripani.
“I got to know these realities better – declares President Zappi – thanks to Lorenzo Fontani and the interview I gave to Sky Sport a few days ago. And I believe that their activity is a great opportunity to be seized both for us and for the whole soccer system.”
Teach parents that referees are to be respected at all times, not least because they are often little more than their children’s age. Teach that aggression, rudeness, even violence, are always the solutions of the weak. To teach parents that they must lead by example, this is the difficult but possible mission of these initiatives to better control impulses and actions, attitudes and behaviors, words and swear words, that are unfortunately put out every Sunday.
“We must try to solve this real national emergency that every weekend manifests itself with a proliferation of fights, aggressions and scenes from the Wild West – said Alessandro Crisafulli -That is why I founded Scuola Genitori Sportivi: a unique reality, which in two years has allowed me to meet, raise awareness, train thousands of parents in many Italian regions. In an innovative, fun, engaging, interactive way, with vignettes, viral videos, quizzes. Making them open their eyes to the damage they can create, often unknowingly, toward their children, toward referees and even toward their own team. Thanks to President Zappi for his sensitivity and determination.”
During the meeting, the associations presented a series of good practices promoted in clubs, in soccer schools, in schools, to protect and enhance the referee figure, with the delivery of the “Children” cards with behind it the ’alphabet of kind cheering in youth sports devised by journalist Gaia Simonetti, which gave birth to the Building Kindness in Sports Award.
A fruitful discussion that will lead to the AIA’s sponsorship toward these actions and a series of meetings and shared activities during the upcoming sports season with the support of all 206 Italian Sections and the Association’s 20 Regional Committees.
